Chapter 68 Orbital Breakpoint (10)

Chapter 68: Orbital Breakpoint (Part Ten)

When the nine-member team returned to the central dining hall safe zone with their two new companions, Xiao Lu and A Fei, along with the twenty-five spare oxygen cylinders, they were greeted by a deathly silence starkly different from when they had left.

"Where are they?" Qi Lan removed his helmet, looking around in confusion.

"How come Engineer Chen and Dr. Wang are gone?"

The safe zone was now completely empty.

The cups they'd used before leaving were still on the table, everything remained exactly as they had left it, except for the two people who were supposed to be on watch.

"Could something have happened?" Bai Su's voice carried a trace of unease and worry.

"What could possibly happen? This place isn't that big," Xiao scoffed coldly. He strode directly to the monitor screen and roughly operated the controls a few times, pulling up the life support system's real-time data.

When the numbers popped up on the screen, his already unpleasant face instantly darkened further.

"Damn it!" He slammed a fist onto the console with a loud *bang*. "See for yourselves!"

Everyone immediately gathered around. The load data on the screen, which originally displayed "10 people," had now shockingly changed to the more glaring [12 people]!

And the system's estimated survival time below had plummeted from 57.6 hours to "42.3 hours"!

The smile completely vanished from Feng Sui's face, replaced by grave seriousness. "It dropped that much again?"

Bao Yan's gaze lingered on the screen for a few seconds before he calmly spoke, breaking through the group's panic. "They don't have oxygen cylinders, and the built-in oxygen in their Survival Suits won't last long. If they just went out, they should be back soon."

His words seemed like analysis, but they were actually meant to reassure.

Yet everyone understood that on this bizarre spaceship, "back soon" might just be wishful thinking.

Xiao clearly wasn't buying it. Pointing at the drastically shrinking survival time, he sneered sarcastically, "Back? Back for what? To fight us for the last bit of oxygen? I bet they knew they wouldn't last long, found a place to end it themselves, saving us some resources!"

"Shut up!" Lin coldly cut him off. "Don't jump to conclusions before we understand the situation."

Xiao stiffened his neck, wanting to say more, but seeing Lin's ice-cold glare, he ultimately closed his mouth resentfully, though his indignant expression said it all.

Strange. Really strange.

Shi Wu silently observed everyone's reactions, a sense of oddity creeping into his mind.

He remembered that initially, Xiao had been quite concerned about Engineer Chen and Dr. Wang. But how come now he was...

His unease grew deeper.

After that, the group ignored Xiao's clamor and sat down at the long table by themselves.

Xiao glanced at everyone, then scurried off to another spot.

A heavy, peculiar atmosphere hung in the air.

The newly found oxygen cylinders were neatly stacked in a corner. Supplies that should have brought hope now seemed to be silently counting down their lives.

"What do we do now?" Qi Lan was the first to break the silence.

"We must find a way out as soon as possible," Bao Yan said meaningfully. "Our time is very precious."

Leaning back in his chair, Shi Wu lazily turned his gaze to the two newcomers. "We need to find a way out, but right now we're like headless flies."

"Xiao Lu, do you know any other way to find 'Ross'? We still need him badly!"

All eyes instantly focused on Xiao Lu.

Xiao Lu looked up. Though the pallor hadn't fully left her face, her eyes were clear. Her voice still trembled slightly, but at the mention of "Ross," an instinctive trust and admiration was evident.

"Yes! Ross... if 'Ross' were here, it would definitely have a way!"

"It's different from other AIs. It... it's almost like a real person. It could understand my emotions, help me handle all sorts of troubles, even... even joke with me."

Xiao Lu seemed lost in some pleasant memory. "The captain said 'Ross' was the soul of our ship. It's smart, wise. It could calculate the optimal course, warn us of all dangers in advance. If... if we could still contact it now, it would definitely have a way to get us out of here!"

The girl's tone was full of conviction, as if "Ross" were an omnipotent deity.

Xiao, listening nearby, rolled his eyes, letting out a disdainful snort. A Fei still sat dazedly in the corner, eyes vacant, fingers unconsciously tracing circles on the table, completely unresponsive to his surroundings.

Seeing this, Xiao Lu forced a weak smile and explained, "A Fei... he's a bit timid. Being trapped in the cold storage for so long probably scared him badly. He needs some time to recover."

Just then, a faint *creak* suddenly came from behind a pile of neglected junk on one side of the dining hall.

Everyone instantly became alert, their gazes snapping in unison toward the source of the sound.

The pile of junk, composed of toppled serving cabinets and broken tables and chairs, was being slowly pushed open from the inside. A familiar figure, leaning against the wall, stumbled out from behind it.

"Ch... Chief Engineer?" Feng Sui exclaimed in surprise.

It was the "missing" Chief Engineer, Lao Chen!

His face was even paler than before, covered in a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead, but his weary eyes held a trace of relief.

"You're... all back," he said with a weak smile, pointing to the hidden passage behind him blocked by the debris.

"This is an emergency food storage point on the ship. It was originally locked. Seeing I was injured and couldn't be of much help, I thought I'd come tidy up, see if I could find some food for everyone."

Only then did everyone notice that behind the junk pile was a small elevator leading downward.

"What about the Medical Officer? Is Dr. Wang inside too?" Shi Wu immediately pressed.

"Yes, yes, he is," Lao Chen nodded. "He saw I couldn't manage alone, so he came down to help me take inventory."

Hearing this explanation, Xiao's expression softened considerably. But in the minds of the other players, their own calculations began.

A hidden food storage point not marked on the map? That in itself was a highly valuable clue.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Shi Wu was the first to stand up, a warm smile on his face. "Chief Engineer and Dr. Wang have worked so hard for us. We should go down and help! Right, everyone?"

His words sounded noble, and naturally, no one could object.

Thus, one after another, everyone filed through the narrow hidden passage into the so-called "food storage point."

It was like a "cellar." The space wasn't large, surrounded by special alloy storage racks maintaining constant temperature and humidity. Rows of vacuum-sealed nutrient paste and compressed biscuits were neatly arranged on them.

Dr. Wang was squatting in a corner, carefully gathering some scattered cans into his arms.

This place was completely sealed, with no passages connecting to the outside.

Shi Wu and Bao Yan exchanged an extremely subtle glance. Taking advantage of the moment while others were "helping" move supplies, the two inconspicuously moved closer together.

"This place is normal."

"It's closed off, with no paths leading elsewhere."

The two said nothing more, but both were on the same page.

Soon, with everyone's "help," a simple yet lavish dinner by the standards of this apocalyptic spaceship was laid out on the long table.

Canned food, compressed biscuits, and a few precious bottles of purified water.

The meal was unusually harmonious.

Xiao Lu stopped picking fights, Feng Sui told a few jokes that weren't very funny, and even the perpetually silent A Fei mechanically took a few bites after some persuasion from Xiao Lu.

Everyone seemed to be making a deliberate effort to forget the dangers outside the ship and the time pressure, choosing instead to enjoy this fleeting moment of camaraderie.

After the meal, everyone found places to rest. Shi Wu and Bao Yan exchanged a glance and wordlessly rose from their seats.

"We're a bit stuffed; we're going for a walk around," Shi Wu said casually, stretching.

They walked around the long table and began carefully observing every corner of this temporary refuge.

The facilities here were indeed well-equipped. Besides the dining area, there were two small doors on either side, marked with symbols for male and female restrooms.

The two simultaneously headed toward the male restroom.

Upon entering, a strange smell—a mix of disinfectant and something else—assaulted their senses.

The restroom wasn't particularly small. The outer area had communal sinks, but due to the ship's accident, the mirror was already shattered, and some faucets were crooked.

Further inside were rows of individual toilet stalls.

On the wall, a square ventilation system cover was lightly dusted. It seemed to have stopped functioning due to the ship's damage.

Bao Yan followed Shi Wu inside and, the moment he stepped into the restroom, gently closed the door behind him with a soft "click."

"This ventilation system seems a bit off," Shi Wu broke the silence first.

He looked up at the high vent, his amber eyes gleaming with insight. "Look at its structure—it's a straight-through design."

"Straight-through?" Bao Yan also looked up, his gaze settling on the ventilation duct three meters high. He pondered before speaking, "You mean it's not connected to internal piping but to... the outside?"

"Very likely," Shi Wu's tone grew serious. "Look at this spot. If someone climbed up, could they use this duct to reach other areas?"